The Opening Ceremony co-founder opened Chifa, a Chinese-Peruvian restaurant, late last year in the Eagle Rock neighborhood in Los Angeles
Late last year, in the middle of Los Angeles' pandemic lockdown, Humberto Leon, a veteran of the fashion and creative industries—Leon co-founded the seminal retail-turned-label Opening Ceremony with business partner Carol Lim and the duo later helmed the legendary Japanese fashion house Kenzo—opened Chifa, a Chinese-Peruvian restaurant in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, with his family. So far, the customer reviews have been excellent—and while dining-in at restaurants in Los Angeles is still verboten, Chifa's Instagram feed provides a sneak peek at the characteristically bold, fearless, vibrant, art-driven aesthetic that's become a hallmark of Leon's body of work.
Take a look inside and see how Leon was inspired by Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai and designer Syd Mead to create a progressive, modernist space. "I feel Wong Kar-wai was always really good about balancing the traditional and the modern; [making] movies that are both futuristic but also [about] history," Leon told the Los Angeles Times. "Syd Mead lived in Pasadena next to my mom—I got a chance to work with him, and I’ve been to his house—he was the ultimate futurist. He did Blade Runner, he did Tron, he drew cars for the future that are still too futuristic for today. I like that kind of optimism, that way of looking at life."